Homer. Although the Archaic Period (700-480 B.C.E.) produced many epic poems, only the Iliad and the Odyssey (both composed circa eighth-seventh centuries B.C.E.) have survived intact, and these two poems must dictate what is known of the epic genre in the period. Both poems were attributed to Homer, but even in the ancient world there were those who denied that these two different poems were the work of one man; many modern scholars have gone much further and doubted whether authorship of either poem can be meaningfully attributed to one individual at all. In any case, it is certain that any poet to whom we might attribute the shaping of either poem in its current state drew exhaustively on a long tradition of heroic stories and highly polished technical skill in telling them.

Personal Background. The accounts of Homer's life found...